The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) opened an investigation after the risk of collision that occurred on the night of January 13 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City.
The incident occurred when a company flight delta airlines bound for Santo DomingoDominican Republic, began its takeoff run on a JFK runway and another plane American Airlines was crossing the same track.
The JFK air traffic controller issued an urgent order to the pilots of the Delta plane, who managed to stop the aircraft and avoid an accident.
“Shit! Delta Airlines 1943 cancel takeoff clearance!“, says a controller, according to the recording of the conversations.
A passenger on the Delta flight reported that some people were scared when the plane stopped.
Based on radio frequency audio between controllers and pilots, the American pilots allegedly did not follow an order.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be the ones to determine what went wrong and the possible sanctions.
What is known about what happened?
The incident happened last friday, January 13th, shortly after 20:00 local time (01:00 GMT, Saturday).
Delta Flight 1943 (DL1943) was on runway 4L waiting for clearance to take off for Santo Domingo.
At the same time, American Flight 106 (AA106) toward London It was taxiing to the designated takeoff runway.
According to audio compiled by ATC Live, a site that monitors aviation radio frequencies, flight DL1943 received clearance to take off from runway 4L.
But at the moment of starting its takeoff run, flight AA106 was crossing that same runway by a taxiway that crosses it.
“Shit! Delta 1943 cancel takeoff clearance!” says the controller. “Delta 1943 cancel takeoff clearance,” he says again.
The pilot responds that he aborts the takeoff and sighs with a “ufff”.
Some aviation experts were able to reconstruct the aircraft’s positions through flight monitoring sites.
The FFA reported Sunday that, based on a “preliminary analysis,” Flight DL1943 “halted its takeoff taxi approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) short of the point” where AA106 was crossing from an adjacent taxiway.
Like the NTSB, it announced an investigation of the incident.
A scare on board
Delta reported that “after the aircraft came to a safe stop on the runway, it returned to the gate where customers deplaned.”
The flight was rescheduled for the next day, while flight AA106 took off shortly after for London.
Donall Brian Healy, a passenger on the Delta Airlines flight, said the incident gave a brief scare among some of those who were on board.
“There were vocal reactions, some yelling as the plane began to slow, then complete silence. I felt a rush of adrenaline knowing this was not normal and not knowing what to expect,” Healy told Business Insider.
“When the plane came to a stop, I realized that we would be fine, I thought it was something mechanical.”
According to their testimony, the pilot informed them that the takeoff abort occurred because another aircraft passed in front of them.
In the audio recordings of the recorded communications, the controller is also heard informing the pilots of flight AA106 that they committed a “possible deviation” to the orders received.
One of the pilots responds: “The last authorization they gave us [era que] we were allowed to cross [la pista]Is that correct?”.
The controller replies that takeoffs were taking place on runway 4L. AA106 instead was on its way to runway 31L.
“We are going to listen to the recordings, but you were supposed to take off from runway 4L. And you are now in position for 31L”, says the controller.
One of the most serious disasters in the history of aviation was a collision between planes on a runway that occurred in Tenerife, Spain, in March 1977.
583 people died and dozens more were injured.
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